Pier Dress KNIT VERSION pattern hack and mashUP

Apr 25, 2017

First let me introduce you to Indyego Fabrics!

INDYEGO is an e-commerce fabric and design company started by two sisters with a passion for creating. The two were both running separate businesses. One sister was creating clothing for children and hip young mothers, while the other was designing custom costumes and festival attire for young creative music loving individuals. It wasn’t until after many hours online and trips to fabric stores spent looking for the perfect material, was the idea for INDYEGO born. The sisters came together to create a balanced team that was focused on quality and design made for those who had the same passions as themselves… Creating.

They had me at SISTERS :)

I had the pleasure of sewing with their Sunset Tribal cotton lycra fabric from their new Desert Dweller Collection. I absolutely love this print!! The colors are right up my alley and held their vibrancy after washing! I thought the triangular cut outs on the Pier Dress would go perfectly with this fabric and I gotta say...it sure does! These colors are perfect for summer and the fabric is OH SO SOFT and easy to work with!

Their Fabric is 220gsm 95%cotton and 5% Lycra and the fabric is digitally printed. Swim is 190gsm 82% nylon 12%spandex

Join their group HERE to see more from the Desert Dweller Collection and receive 10% off when you use coupon code: indyego.lilluxe

And now for the Pier Dress and Free pleated skirt pattern mashup!

The Pier Dress is designed as a fitted bodice for WOVEN FABRICS....but anytime I can make something simpler with no buttons or zippers I jump at the opportunity ;) So here's my first go at the mashup. I got lucky and it came out just as I hoped! I used the bodice corresponding to her chest size (no sizing up or down!), the skirt I made from the Free Pleated skirt pattern which is based off of her waist size and a gold elastic waistband also fitted to her waist size (plus seam allowance).

This is spacer knit so it DOES NOT need to be hemmed or lined. I cut off the seam allowance from the bodice neckline, armscye's and the triangular cut out edges but not from the sides or bottom of the bodice. Instead of cutting mirrored sides for the back bodice, I removed the seam allowance on the pattern and cut on the fold. Then I assembled by sewing the shoulders and sides, pressed my seam allowances open and used a twin needle to sew the seam allowances in place.

For the skirt, I took out the top stitches which created the fold over waistband then removed about 3" from the pleated edge. Next I sewed my waistband in a loop and marked my centers and sides. Using many pins, I pinned the skirt to my waistband (overlapping by about 3/8" on the back side of the waistband) lining up the front, back and sides. I used a zig zag stitch to sew the skirt and waist band together but a twin needle or other stretch stitch could also be used to keep the stretch of the knit and elastic. Lastly, I attached the bodice to the opposite side of the waistband...again lining up the centers and overlapping the bodice and elastic by about 3/8" on the back side of the elastic.

Easy peasy!! The wordiness and length of my description probably make this sound harder than it really is, lol. I was so happy this came out so well so I felt comfortable cutting into my Desert Dweller fabric from Indyego. Their knit is Cotton/Lycra (95/5) so I did choose to line this bodice, assemble the neckline and armscyes using the burrito roll method, then proceed as directed in the tutorial for the rest of the bodice. Because cotton/lycra has more drape, I also chose to gather the full width of the skirt rather than doing pleats. I attached the bodice and skirt to another gold elastic waistband as described above and Voila! Two quick and easy KNIT versions of the Pier Dress :)

2 comments

JessJul 21, 2017

Karen….The back looks the same as the front. As stated above: “Instead of cutting mirrored sides for the back bodice, I removed the seam allowance on the pattern and cut on the fold.” I didn’t do a lining for the spacer knit but did cut a bodice lining for the cotton/lycra and sewed using the burrito roll method, as explained in the post. :) Hope that helps!

Karen BudzinskiJul 13, 2017

So on the back, it is simply overlapped and not sewn together?? Both the bodice and skirt? Doesn’t it open up if the little girl plays in the dress? Would you please post a picture of the back and how it looks? Thanks so much! I would love to make this in a knit!